This beast

[dmishra]

sami hyypia: goals in liverpool in 10 years

I miss him. 🙁

 

[juniormember]

In my mind our best defender ever.
Others may disagree, but christ he was a great player.
I actually felt sad after watching that. We've not managed to replace him and I'm not sure we will for a long time.
Houllier's best buy by far.

 

[The Nomad]

Our best defender in premier league era... That goal against Juve still gives me goose bumps... A central defender by rights should have hoofed it over, but the big man had such control and composure. A one off for sure... I hate to say it, but the closest since is Vidic.

 

[Judge Jules]

Vidic is an excellent defender, big Sami was an excellent footballer. There's the difference. I'm one of those who would disagree with juniormember about "greatest ever" (Jocky's still supreme for me) but I loved the Flying Finn.

 

[dmishra]

My favourite Sami moment - This game (against Boro I think) where he had to come off to get stitches on his head. Comes back on with a big fucking bandage around his head, and is immediately pulled into action defending a corner. Sami jumps up and clears with a fucking towering header with his bandaged head.

Beast.

 

[dmishra]

I miss him because he signed just when I started supporting the club, and really, every good memory I have of this club has him associated with it. No one epitomises what Liverpool FC is about more than Sami IMO.

There's this great article I recently found

It’s always hard to say goodbye to a hero, especially when the hero is regarded as a legend. It’s harder having to write a farewell piece on somebody you admired. If only their careers could go on forever. There was a sense of sadness when Sami Hyypia left Liverpool 2 years ago, and earlier this week it was hanky time when he hung up his boots. His football career had come to an end. Football had lost one of its nice guys.

Sami was fortunate enough that his parents were both obsessed with football, his father Jouko playing for Finnish team Pallo Peikot and his mother, Irma an amateur goalkeeper. Hyypia began his career with KuMu and soon moved to MyPa, where alongside his good friend Jari Litmanen they won the Finnish cup twice. He moved to Willem II in 1995 and spent 4 years there. He captained the Dutch side into the Champions league, winning the player of the year. Some achievement for a club like Willem II.

His moved to Liverpool in 2009 and was the marquee signing of the Houllier era, actually of any era. At just £2.5 million, he was arguably one of the best signing in the history of the Premier League. And he had some record; 464 appearances for Liverpool, scoring 35 goals. How many defenders in the last 20 years have made such a contribution in attack?

He was a top class defender, always consistent and reliable. He was a tremendous leader on and off the pitch, someone that the players looked up to and found him as a supportive voice. His partnership alongside Henchoz achieved the pair 84 clean sheets in 184 games. He knew how to tackle and his discipline record speaks for itself; he went 87 games between January 2000 and October 2001 without being booked. His partnership alongside Carra will be one that all Liverpool fans will remember. In their peak they were regarded as one of the most formidable duo’s in Europe and helped Reina beat Ray Clemence’s record for the least number of games to reach 100 clean sheets.

Sami’s achievements at Liverpool, although never wining a Premier League are something to write home about. A UEFA Champions league, 2 FA cups, UEFA Cup, 2 League cups, 2 Community shields and 2 super Cup’s. He came to England to live the dream with his boyhood football club; this certainly lived up to it.

There were many highlights during Sami’s 10 years at Liverpool and a few memorable moments that I won’t forget. It was his stand out smile, never frowned and the blond hair. It was his Terry Butcheresque appearance with a blood soaked bandage around his head after a nasty head injury; Liverpool’s own warrior.

Two moments spell out to me the qualities of Hyypia. Firstly, after his 3 goal line clearances in the 2001 FA cup final and despite leading the team out, he allowed Robbie Fowler and Jamie Redknapp ( both injured) to come out and lift the FA cup; some gentlemen. Secondly, his graciousness and manner when Gerard Houllier took the captains arm band and gave it to a certain up and coming scouser; Steven Gerrard. No sulking, no moaning, respectful and dignified. Gerrard said he was the first to come and congratulate him. This is the kind of man he was.

Sami’s 3 most important goals came in the Champions league; against Olympiakos in 2002, his volley against Juventus in 2005, which Sami said was his finest ever goal as it helped Liverpool into the Semi finals and finally his equaliser against Arsenal in 2008. All game changing goals. He scored in every season he played; no other Liverpool centre half has.

His greatest achievement was his Champions league victory in 2005, Hyypia being part of the back four that stopped the second half rot with AC Milan. His success was recognised for his country and he won Finnish player of the year 8 times. He was capped by his country 105 times and was made captain after Litmanen hung up his boots.

The farewell match was against Totenham in 2009 at Anfield, when he came on as a substitute for no other than Steven Gerrard. Gerrard took of the armband and wrapped it around Hyypia’s arm, for Gerrard knew that he may have carried it all these years, but by no means could there ever be a leader like Hyypia. The Kop stood up in applause, like they always had done.

He was our super Finn. 8 minutes later, one of the toughest human beings burst into tears when the final whistle blew for he knew that this was it. That’s what playing for Liverpool had meant to him. His Liverpool career flashed before him. He remembered walking onto the training ground on his first day and the guards didn’t believe he was a Liverpool player, he remembered Cardiff 2001 and his goal line clearance, he remembered the madness that was when beating Alves in 2001, the comeback of Istanbul and Gerrard’s miracle in the FA cup final in 2006. He realised how much this club loved him, and more importantly how much he loved them and he had to say goodbye. He was offered a new contract, increased his wages, anything, to keep the super Finn. But for Sami, it was all about football. If he wasn’t playing every week, he wasn’t happy.

He moved onto Leverkusen were at age 36 he was voted defender of the year the next 2 years Age didn’t come into it. Genius did.

So we say goodbye to yet another legend. Thank you Sami for everything you have done for the club and your passion and loyalty during your 10 years here. You will go down alongside Hansen, Lawro, Yeates and Thommo as our all time great defenders. The tears keep flowing, so I’m going to end this with tributes from other about our super Finn.

Jari Litmann‘I suppose that's his greatest strength, the fact that he has never failed or done anything below the standards he has set. As a teammate you know what you'll get from him and he never disappoints’.
Alan Hansen‘He is a brilliant professional and he's been a big player for such a long time for Liverpool. He leads by example and never lets them down.
Phil Thompson‘It always makes me laugh when people started saying a few years ago his pace had gone. Sami Hyypia never had any pace to lose! What he has got is an incredible ability to read the game and that has been his biggest asset.
Carragher’ Everyone talks about foreign players like Zola, Henry and Bergkamp but they never look at Sami. In terms of consistency he's well up there with them, there's no doubt about it.’.

 

[mark1975]

Legend, my favourite player of the last 20 years. The guys just got everything, brilliant footballer and a really nice bloke.

 

[FoxForceFive]

My favourite moment was when he stuck his tongue into Roy Keane's ear at a corner, the look on his face was priceless, worked too, cos Sami got a completely free header. Didnt score though, more's the pity.

 

[Squiggles]

[quote author=mark1975 link=topic=46191.msg1368448#msg1368448 date=1311338289]
Legend, my favourite player of the last 20 years. The guys just got everything, brilliant footballer and a really nice bloke.
[/quote]

Completely agree. He's been my favourite player in my life time, followed closely by Gerrard.

He was impeccable.

 

[RedStar]

[quote author=Judge Jules link=topic=46191.msg1368338#msg1368338 date=1311318678]
Vidic is an excellent defender, big Sami was an excellent footballer. There's the difference. I'm one of those who would disagree with juniormember about "greatest ever" (Jocky's still supreme for me) but I loved the Flying Finn.
[/quote]

Vidic is more akin to Jamie style wise than Hyppia, Sami had far more style and footballling ability than Vidic, he led the meanest defence in the league for several seasons when our back four was cobbled together from also rans, Vidic is a passionate hatchet man with no pace or positioning, every top team needs a player like that but once you remove the speed and calmness of Ferdinand hes a liability. Big sami was something different, truly one of my favourite liverpool players, and the only player in the last 20 years who could be put alongside the local lads Stevie, Jamie and Robbie in terms of what he gave to the club

 

[Whaddapie]

[quote author=Judge Jules link=topic=46191.msg1368338#msg1368338 date=1311318678]
Vidic is an excellent defender, big Sami was an excellent footballer. There's the difference. I'm one of those who would disagree with juniormember about "greatest ever" (Jocky's still supreme for me) but I loved the Flying Finn.
[/quote]

Sami is the best defender we've had since Jocky quit, and, without question, he'd be in the discussion to be one of our 'all-time' central defender pairing, which, considering Mark Lawrenson, Emlyn Hughes and Ron Yeats have shone for us, is a monsterous compliment by itself.

 

[Wizardry]

[quote author=Whaddapie link=topic=46191.msg1368583#msg1368583 date=1311359077]
[quote author=Judge Jules link=topic=46191.msg1368338#msg1368338 date=1311318678]
Vidic is an excellent defender, big Sami was an excellent footballer. There's the difference. I'm one of those who would disagree with juniormember about "greatest ever" (Jocky's still supreme for me) but I loved the Flying Finn.
[/quote]

Sami is the best defender we've had since Jocky quit, and, without question, he'd be in the discussion to be one of our 'all-time' central defender pairing, which, considering Mark Lawrenson, Emlyn Hughes and Ron Yeats have shone for us, is a monsterous compliment by itself.
[/quote]

Yeah, I'd have him in there with Hansen as our best ever CB pairing. He's my favourite ever LFC player outside the British Isles; not sure if he's my favourite player ever - I just don't think I could manage to choose one player. After that compilation, however, I genuinely felt sad that he never knew what it was like to lift the title. The Juve goal gave me a shiver but that goal against Arsenal will remain the greatest headed goal I think I've ever seen.